The pleasure of a tea break

A tea break is a small pause with its own setting. Notice the cup, the temperature and the company before deciding whether a drink is the best you have ever tasted. Recipes and serving habits vary between households and shops. One cup is an experience, not a complete guide to a country.

If you prepare tea at home, begin with clean equipment and follow the instructions for the tea you have chosen. Adjust gradually rather than changing every variable at once. Keep a record of steeping time and ingredients so that a pleasant result can be repeated without turning the break into a complicated experiment.

Notebook exercise

Take ten minutes to record one detail from your own day. Include the date and setting, then leave the page open for a later observation. Keep any private information out of a version you share.